Two-Start Starters April 6th – 12th

Welcome to the second edition of the 2026 two-start pitcher rankings!

Each week, I’ll break down all the projected two-start starters into four tiers: Set and Forget, Most Likely Start, Questionable, and Avoid. Set-and-Forget starters are simply that; get them in your lineup and shift your focus to other positions. The Most Likely tier includes players with a mix of skill and matchups that make them almost certainly two-start plays, but not without some elevated risk compared to the top tier. Questionable starters are those best suited for daily lineup leagues, where you can bench them against the tougher of their two opponents; they’re more situation-dependent in weekly leagues. Finally, the Avoid tier includes the pitchers who should remain on your bench or the wire.

I will also be highlighting one Two-Start Streamer of the Week. The criteria for a streamer will be a rostered rate under 50% in Yahoo & ESPN leagues. The streamer of the week for this upcoming week is Casey Mize, and he will have a (STOW) next to his name.

As a friendly reminder, the projected starters are just that, projections, and are subject to change

• Chris Sale is coming off an outing where his velocity was down, but we learned after the game that he was dealing with an illness.
• Tarik Skubal owners should always be thrilled when he has two starts, but two starts against the Twins and Marlins give an extra reason for celebration
• Hunter Brown will be making his third start at Coors this week, and while that’s always a little jarring, he pitched well there last season, striking out 8 over 6 innings of two-run ball.  His second start will be in the pitcher-friendly T-Mobile Park against a struggling Mariners lineup.
• Sandy Alcantara will be coming off a Maddux, pitching at home against the Reds, and then at Comerica against the Tigers. He’s fully stretched out and is looking much better than he did this time last season
• Joe Ryan struggled in his last start, but that will happen.  If it happens again, we can start to think about dropping him a tier, but for now, set-and-forget.
• Freddy Peralta AGA.  He’s struck out 7 in each start this season, and as of writing, the Athletics are tied for the fewest runs scored.
• Cam Schlittler has allowed three baserunners over two starts. Three! Set, forget, and let him produce for your team.
• Nick Pivetta just had a little bit tougher of an assignment with the promotion of Konnor Griffin, but he bounced back from his first start nicely and is more than capable of producing against the Pirates and Rockies in San Diego
• Logan Gilbert had a rough game against the Yankees. It happens. He still managed to strike out 6 and go 5.1 despite allowing 7 hits and 3 walks.  Don’t overthink this one either.
• Jacob deGrom looked good after being scratched with a stiff neck. He struck out 7 Orioles in 4.2 innings, and should continue to go deeper into games with every start.
• Kevin Gausman dismantled the Rockies this week. While the Dodgers are a tough matchup, he’s good enough to trust against them, and he gets to face the Twins over the weekend.

• Tanner Bibee is coming off a strong start against the Dodgers. The Braves’ run total for the season is inflated by a 17-4 thrashing of the Diamondbacks. Bibee had neutral splits last season, so there isn’t extra exposure to the Braves’ lefties either.
• Casey Mize (SOTW) is rostered in only 31% of Yahoo leagues and 14.2% of ESPN leagues. That number should increase after striking out 9 Diamondbacks and having favorable matchups against the Twins and Marlins.  In that Diamondback start, he threw 93 pitches, so he should be fully built up. The Marlins started the season 5-1, but were playing the White Sox and the Rockies.  If they continue that success against the Yankees, Reds, and Tigers, we’ll adjust our expectations for their offense.
• Noah Cameron has two strong matchups against the Guardians and White Sox, who have the 7th-highest (27.6%) and 2nd-highest (34.0%) offensive strikeout rates. This should make up for Cameron’s lack of swing-and-miss, and Cameron’s command should limit free passes as well.
• I’d like to see more strikeouts from José Soriano, but he faces a Reds offense that has scored the fewest runs in the league. He can give the Angels length after throwing 90 pitches and is still inducing groundballs at a high clip (63% this season, 65% in 2025).
• Andrew Painter pitched well against the Nationals….but that’s the Nationals. Facing the Giants and their third-lowest average bat speed in the pitcher-friendly Oracle Park feels pretty safe.  Arizona, meanwhile, is 23rd in Barrel%, so I don’t see any glaring match-up concerns for Painter this week.
• Bubba Chandler, please make your fastball location a little more competitive. Please?? He walked and struck out 6 in his season debut, and his pitch plot is something to see.  The stuff is there to be a set-and-forget caliber pitcher, but the command has to be a little better.
• Andrew Abbott got hurt by one bat pitch against the Pirates. He’ll have to avoid that at home against an Angels team that is striking out 29.6% of the time, but is 11th in Barrel%.  Abbot should thrive in his first start against the Marlins as well.

• Dean Kremer should replace the injured Zach Eflin in the Orioles rotation this week. If he does, he gets a nice and easy start facing the White Sox and Giants. He was fine last year, but this is his first time pitching since Spring Training.
• Brayan Bello isn’t a strikeout pitcher, and his velocity is a bit down to start the season. The value this week would be a lengthy start against the White Sox, but I would look for better options.
• Jameson Taillon is another pitcher whose velocity is down a bit (92.3 mph last year vs 90.8 this season). The match-ups aren’t good, but they’re not bad. He also walked four in his last start, which is hopefully a blip (5.8% career BB%).
• Ryan Feltner is a play in daily leagues. I wouldn’t want to start him twice if one of those is against the Astros at Coors. However, outside of Coors, he’s an intriguing option who was pitching well against the Blue Jays before getting hit by a line drive.
• Kyle Freeland, like his rotation mate, is a play in daily leagues for the same reason. His velocity is up and is an intriguing option in the future for spot starts, away from Coors, of course.
• Janson Junk lit up the PitcherList Stats with an A+ stuff grade in his first start. All five of his pitches had a plvStuff+ >110.  My hesitancy is that I’m concerned this is a one-off. He didn’t flash stuff like this last season or in spring training. He’s worth stashing on your roster, just in case.
• Brandon Woodruff is still building up, and he only threw 67 pitches in his first start for the Brewers. The stuff is declining, yet he was still able to strike out 6 while walking none over 5 innings.  I’m excited to follow Woodruff’s performance in fantasy this season, but for now, I’d feel confident starting him against the Nationals once I’ve seen another start.
• Andre Pallante could be fine against the Nationals in daily leagues, and if the Red Sox’s offensive woes continue, you could get away with him in a weekly league, potentially. He’s not a long-term option, though.
• Max Scherzer is another potential daily league play. The future HOFer is crafty enough to consider streaming against the Twins, but I’m not risking him against the Dodgers.
• Zack Littell was fine against the Phillies (3 runs over 5 innings), but he only struck out one. In deeper leagues, he’s worth considering, but I’d look for better options.
• Zac Gallen has two tough match-ups with the Mets and Phillies, and his stuff isn’t the same. He only generated 6 whiffs in 6 innings with a 22% CSW against the Tigers. He had success in that game thanks to excellent command, but I would be very careful starting him in either game this week.

There are two pitchers worth mentioning in this list.  The first is Shane Smith. I’m a believer in Shane Smith, but I can’t justify starting him right now.  The walks have been a problem since Spring Training, and the strikeouts are down.  The stuff is better than last season, but right now, he’s not playable.

Ryan Pepiot could be returning from the IL on Monday, but the uncertainty coming off injury and a match-up against the Yankees is a tough ask.  I’m excited to watch him pitch, and I am looking forward to seeing him higher in these tiers in the future.

Image created by Doug Carlin